GOLD EXPORT £100,000 FOR JUNE

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 64, 13 September 1932, Page 5

GOLD EXPORT

£100,000 FOR JUNE

BEST MONTH FOR YEARS

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.) DUNEDIN, 12th September. For the' month of June the export of gold from the v Dominion represented £100,000 in value, said- Mr. A. H. ■ Kimbell, Under-Secretary of Mines, at - a conference to-day with business men on the methods to be adopted to safeguard, the mining industry. This was the largest amount in any one month for many years, and represented over £1,000,000 for a year. Mr. Kimbell said he believed that in a couple of years' time, if the gold-mining'areas _were first of; all properly tested, export from New, Zealand would represent £2,000,000. ■•■'■ ■•'•■■ i The views of those interested in the mining industry regarding the danger of the public losing confidence as' a resHlt of unwise company flotation were placed before Mr. Kimbell by representatives of the Chamber of -Commerce and several genfle.men connected ■with the mining industry. ' ' Mr. J. E. Fairbairn, who; presided, said it was felt by. the .Chamber of Commerce that.if steps were not taken to safeguard .mining interests as. a •whole there would be a repetition. of the; experience of thirty" years ago, ■when the public lost all confidence in mining investments.' A sub-committee of the chamber which had been set up to report on the matter had recommended that a board should be set up, consisting of business men, 'mining engineers, and members of the Stock Exchange, to give recognition" to "any reputable mining proposition; Such .a board would base! its', .opinions on information submitted to^itregarding the results; of tests carried out on the area on which it was proposed'to commence operations. It was not considered ad-? visable that restrictive ... legislation should be introduced, as the Mines Department would riot:be justified in taking the responsibility, of condemning any project. ' A NEED TOR SAFEGUARDS. Mr. Kimbell stated that he- had considered for many years that the Mines Department should do what it could to maintain the mining industry on businesslike lines. The question was bristling with difficulties, however, and he doubted very much if the Government would take on itself the responsibility of checking the data in many prospectuses that were now being issued throughout New Zealand. He thought that the Chamber of Commerce and the Stock Exchange couli} largely safeguard the welfare of client's if they would appoint a reliable qualified mining engineer, paying him a rea-' Bonable fee for the purpose of examing all data in connection with prospectuses that were now. being issued. The engineer would have made available to him all information in possession of the Mines Department, and*the statement could then be made to the joint bodies whether the information contained in the prospectuses was correct'and what tests had disclosed. Tne Stock Exchange could refrain from patting a mining company on its list till the company started work. Mining rights were, heinfe taken up in •which no testing whatever had been 'ddne, and prospectuses, were being issued, one condition being that the promoters should receive 30, 40, or 50 per cent, of the shares as paid up. Such a state of affairs was ridiculous, and would do1 the industry a great deal of harm. ■ Mr. Kimbell' added that fully 90 per cent, of the companies floated '•were not being properly tested, and the Department-felt very concerned ab'ont it. , ," *